ED lens on MLA’s properties in names of kin & driver, ill-gotten money
Times of India | 27 August 2025
12 Kolkata/Berhampore: Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials probing the school jobs-for-cash scam have traced properties of Trinamool MLA Jiban Krishna Saha registered in the name of his relatives and driver. On the first day of his interrogation, investigators tried to find out the volume of money Saha allegedly collected from job-seekers.ED has already raided the residences of Saha's relatives, including his aunt and Sainthia councillor Maya Saha. Sleuths have also traced properties procured in the name of his driver.Saha's affidavit with the Election Commission states that in 2021, he had deposits and investments worth Rs 1.6 crore, while his bank balance was merely Rs 44,590. His annual income for 2019-20 was Rs 5.4 lakh. He has agricultural land in Birbhum worth around Rs 1.2 crore. Apart from that, he has non-agricultural land and a house worth more than Rs 20 lakh. | Gold Rates Today in Kolkata | Silver Rates Today in KolkataED lawyers Dhiraj Trivedi and Bhaskar Prasad Banerjee claimed in court on Monday that Saha tried to escape by scaling the wall and throwing his mobiles in a drain. Saha's lawyer Jakir Hossain challenged the arrest verbally, though he did not move a bail petition.Hossain argued that Saha had always cooperated with central investigating agencies over the last one-and-a-half years. Saha and his wife attended the ED office whenever called, he said.Meanwhile, two audio clips with Saha's purported telephonic conversations went viral on Tuesday. In one of the clips, a Kuli gram panchayat resident of Burwan, Dipak Mandal, was heard demanding his money back from Saha. The legislator purportedly promised to pay the entire amount back, in instalments. In another clip, Saha allegedly promised to return another person the "amount" by Puja. He also asked the person to provide his bank account number.Apurba Sarkar, Berhampore-Murshidabad district president of Trinamool, said: "The party never asks anyone to accept money for any help or public service. However, we don't trust central agencies as they are working hand-in-glove with BJP."